Rate My Professor Anne Besson

Dr. Anne Besson serves as a Teaching Fellow for 200-level courses, Contract Lecturer, and Assistant Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. Originally from France, she earned her PhD from the University of Otago, where her research focused on the thermoregulatory abilities of tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) in cooler climates to support conservation translocations. Following her doctorate, she held a brief postdoctoral position in France before returning to the University of Otago in her current capacity.

As an ecophysiologist and evolutionary ecologist, Dr. Besson investigates physiological and behavioural responses of individuals to environmental disturbances, both natural and human-induced, and their consequences for survival and reproduction. Her expertise spans behavioural ecology, herpetology, ecological physiology, and evolutionary ecology. She leads or collaborates on projects such as examining personality trait covariation with glucocorticoid levels in viviparous lizards (with Sheri Johnson, Shinichi Nakagawa, Sandrine Meylan, Alison Cree), lizard responses to predator fluctuations (with Jo Monks), and meta-analyses linking behaviour to fitness (with Kimberley Mathot, Shinichi Nakagawa, Elene Haave-Audet). Her research has garnered over 690 citations per Google Scholar.

Dr. Besson teaches laboratory classes for ZOOL 221 Animal Designs for Living, ZOOL 222 Evolutionary Biology, and ZOOL 223 Animal Physiology, and lectures in ZOOL 315 Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology and ZOOL 313 Animal Function and Environment. Notable publications include Mathot et al. (2024, Nature Communications) on predation risk assessment in birds; Haave-Audet et al. (2022, Biological Reviews) on behaviour-fitness mediation via resource acquisition; Besson et al. (2010, Oecologia) on enhanced thermoregulation in cold-adapted reptiles; Monks et al. (2023, Biological Invasions) on predator control impacts on lizards; and Ragsdale et al. (2022, BMC Biology) on intergenerational hypoxia resistance.